Category: Australia (page 4 of 4)

184: We Do Language (featuring Anne Charity Hudley)

18 November 2014 / / Comments Off on 184: We Do Language (featuring Anne Charity Hudley)

There’s more than one way to speak English.

But too often, kids who speak other varieties of English find themselves on the wrong side of their teachers. How can educators — and everyone else — avoid linguistic discrimination and value …

181: Is Aussie Slang Dying out?

28 October 2014 / / Comments Off on 181: Is Aussie Slang Dying out?

Is Australian slang carking it? Dying, that is.

One lexicographer is seeing fewer Aussie terms than ever in contemporary slang. Words are always going in and out of fashion, but if the Aussie lingo is changing, can we see what …

180: Bad English (featuring Ammon Shea)

21 October 2014 / / Comments Off on 180: Bad English (featuring Ammon Shea)

Are you annoyed by grammar purists?

Do prescriptive pedants pester you with trivial issues of usage?

What you need is some ammunition for fighting back. And it’s here, in the new book Bad English: A History of Linguistic Aggravation.…

175: Mother Tongues

16 September 2014 / / Comments Off on 175: Mother Tongues

Everyone knows it’s a good idea to get kids to learn a foreign language.

But lots of Australian kids already speak a foreign language — at home. Yet these ‘mother tongues’ are losing ground to English. How do we encourage …

165: Little Sponges

27 May 2014 / / Comments Off on 165: Little Sponges

Children seem to soak up language, even the things we’d rather they not say.

What do you do about your child’s swearing? And does using sign language help babies talk earlier?

Linguist Daniel Midgley is down with the kids on …

155: The Language of Denialism (featuring Kylie Sturgess)

18 March 2014 / / Comments Off on 155: The Language of Denialism (featuring Kylie Sturgess)

How do you convince others of your views when the facts are overwhelmingly against you?

If you’re one of the many hoaxers, cranks, and denialists out there, you use language. What rhetorical tactics do they rely on, and how can …

141: Australianisms (featuring Ben Yagoda)

29 October 2013 / / Comments Off on 141: Australianisms (featuring Ben Yagoda)

Are you concerned about encroaching Americanism?

Do you worry that words like ketchup and zee will destroy the Australian way of life?

Well, don’t worry; language change works both ways. Americans are picking up words and phrases from Australia. But …

3: Pavlova

7 December 2010 / / Comments Off on 3: Pavlova

This week, the Oxford English Dictionary dropped a bombshell: the first reference to Pavlova appears in a New Zealand publication, not an Australian one.

How much do we know about the names of our favourite desserts? Why is a lamington…

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